Poka-yoke and its implementation in manufacturing

1. Application of Poka Yoke
Submitted by :
Prachi Sharma

2. Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is Error?
3. Poka Yoke over Errors
4. Importance
5. When to use
6. How to use
7. Methods
8. Implementation in Manufacturing
9. Advantages
10.Conclusion

3. What is Poka Yoke?
a) Brother of Pikachu
b) martial art technique
c) A disease

4. Introduction
 Pronunciation POH -KAH- YOH- KAY
 Derived from Japanese words
Yokeru – Avoid
Poka – Mistakes
 Coined in Japan during 1960s by Shigeo Shingo part of the
Toyota Production System.
 initially Boka Yoke – fool proofing
 Changed to POKA YOKE – Mistake Proofing

5. What is Error?
 A mistake deviation from what is correct, right, or true
 How to prevent error
Old way – scold people
retain them
tell them to be more careful
New way – training and motivation
easy way to do a job
 The potential of human error can be dramatically reduced.

6. What causes error?
 Errors lead to defects
Poor Procedures and Standards
Machines
Non – Conforming Material
Worn tooling
Human mistakes

7. What is Poka Yoke or Mistake Proofing?
 Poka Yoke is a tool to have “zero defects” and even to reduce or eliminate quality control.
 Poka Yoke represents the intelligence of operator by excluding repetitive actions that require a
thinking process.
 Mistake Proofing is a product’s design and its manufacturing process is a key element of design
for manufacturability/ assembly.
 Mistake proofing is also a key element of improving product quality and reliability.
Factors contributing to Mistake Proofing
 Attention
 Perception
 Memory
 Logic reasoning

8. Principles of Poka YOke
 Elimination
 Replacement
 Prevention
 Facilitation
 Detection
 Mitigation

9. Functions of Poka Yoke
 Warning - When a defect is about to occur, a warning buzzer
or light can be activated in order to alert workers.
 Control - Probably the most effective is achieved through the
control of operations
 Shut Down - When an error is detected, an operation can be
shut down, preventing defects from occurring.

10. Classification of Poka Yoke
 Prevention Based PoKa Yoke - Prevention based
mechanisms sense an abnormality that is about to happen,
and then signal the occurrence depending on severity,
frequency or downstream consequences.
 Detection Based Poka Yoke - In many of the situations, it is
not possible to economically feasible to prevent defects,
particularly where the capital cost of the pokayoke
mechanism, far exceeds the cost of prevention

11. Importance
 Helps people and processes.
 Refers to techniques that make it impossible to make mistakes.
 Helps to drive defects out of products and processes and substantially improve
quality and reliability.
 Used to fine tune improvements and process design from six sigma.
 Use the ideas and methods in product and process design which can eliminate
both human and mechanical errors.

12. When to use it?
 It is a technique, a tool that can be applied to any type of
process in manufacturing or service sector.
 Poka Yoke can be used wherever something can go worng or
an error can be made.

13. Types of Error
 Processing error: Process operation missed or not performed per the SOP.
 Setup error: Using the wrong tooling or setting machine adjustments incorrectly.
 Missing part: Not all parts included in the assembly, welding, or other processes.
 Improper part/item : Wrong part used in the process.
 Operations’ error: Carrying out an operation incorrectly; having the incorrect
version of the specification.
 Measurement error: Errors in machine adjustment, test measurement or
dimensions of a part coming in from a supplier.

14. How to use it ?
Step by step process in applying poka yoke
1. Identify the operation or process.
2. Analyze the 5-Ws and understand the ways a process can fail.
3. Decide the right Poka-yoke approach, such as using a:
1. Shut out type: Preventing an error being made, or an
2. Attention type: Highlighting that an error has been made.
4. Determine whether a
 Contact Method
 Constant Number or Counting Method
 Motion-Sequence Method
5. Trial the method and see if it works.
6. Train the operator, review performance and measure success.

15. Methods of Poka Yoke
 Contact Method :
“Do not have to be high tech!”
 These can be as simple as blocks that do not allow parts to be
seated in the wrong position prior to processing.
 Take advantage of parts designed with an uneven shape.
 This method signals to the operator right away that the part is not
in proper position.

16.  Constant Number or Counting Method:
 Used when a fixed number of operations are required within a process.
 When a product has a fixed number of parts that are attached to it.
 A sensor counts the number of times a part is used or a process is
completed and releases the part only when the right count is reached.

17.  Motion-Sequence Method:
 The third poka yoke method uses sensors to determine if a motion or a
step in a process has occurred.
 If the step has not occurred or has occurred out of sequence, the
sensor signals a timer or other device to stop the machine and signal
the operator.

18. Implementation in manufacturing
 Poka-yoke can be implemented at any step of a manufacturing process
where something can go wrong or an error can be made.
Shigeo Shingo recognized three types of poka-yoke for detecting and
preventing errors in a mass production system:
 The contact method identifies product defects by testing the product's
shape, size, color, or other physical attributes.
 The fixed-value (or constant number) method alerts the operator if a
certain number of movements are not made.
 The motion-step (or sequence) method determines whether the prescribed
steps of the process have been followed.

19. Advantages
 They are simple and cheap.
 They are part of the process, implementing what Shingo calls "100%"
inspection.
 They are placed close to where the mistakes occur, providing quick
feedback to the workers so that the mistakes can be corrected.
 Once put in place, they require minimal supervision.

20. Conclusion
Poka-yokes deals with understanding why people make errors and how to
analyze the process to know where errors are likely to occur and what root
causes contribute to them.
Since the poka-yoke devices detect errors at their roots n prevent them
from blowing up to become bigger problems, there is consistency in the
quality of the products, saving the cost and time spent in subsequent
quality inspection processes.